Stark Street Princess
by katiebells
Summary: Steph never went to Vinnie in her moment of desperation, instead she takes up an offer from an old friend, that puts her on the opposite side to both Ranger and Morelli. Will this forever seperate her from a man she learns to love.
1. Last Resort

_Disclaimer: With the exception of original characters, the characters in this story belong to Janet Evanovich_

At thirty..something Stephanie felt she was far too old to be in the same position she was in during college,broke, jobless and living in an apartment with all the luxuries of a dorm room and the same stains. But following her divorce with Dickie, or 'Dickbreath' as she had been accustomed to calling him since the second she caught him with Joyce Barnyard..ahem..Bernhardt, she was refused alimony and only had her wages to count on, her non-existent wages following her redundancy from EE Martin, a lingerie company that fell victim to a bad economy. But the economy was better and she was still jobless and facing the worst possible solution to her problems- Move back in with her parents. A situation Stephanie refused to accept and would do anything to avoid.

With Saint Val currently living the idyllic life in California with her children, her husband, her bleach blonde hair and her lifetime membership to Pilates class, Stephanie refused to become the poster child for youngest child disappointment. Which lead her to her current position, walking down Stark Street heading for the loan sharks. Her last option before her family but still just as scary. She had seen enough mob movies to know what loan sharks were capable of, and she had lived in Trenton all her life -long enough to know that when it comes to anything remotely mob-like, sometimes the movies got it spot on.

Every step she walked took her deeper into Stark Street and the Trenton underbelly, and further away from the normality of the Burg, there was a lump in her throat and her heart was pounding so much she couldn't hear her busy surroundings, she was scared, but she had no choice. She had a current account balance of $12, she was facing eviction, the furniture she took from her house with Dickie after the divorce had all been cashed in and only a ratty couch, table, chair and her bed remained in the apartment, her water and electricity has been switched off yesterday and her rusting yellowed fridge held only a half full jar of peanut butter. It was this far from comfortable existence that had forced her to consider loan shark, the bank unwilling to listen to an unemployed, thirty...something, divorcee.

Shaking her head and coming out of her mental reflections she noticed she had travelled far into Stark Street and was approaching the dirty office windows of the various Loan Sharks the Street had to offer. Squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin ever so slightly, Stephanie prepared herself to enter the Office closest to her. She had not prepared herself for the hand that clamped onto her upper arm, nor the man attached to it that dragged her into the alley next to the office.

Her entire body froze and the mental image of herself being raped and murdered flicked through her mind until she could couldn't see the bricks of the wall in front of her and she was no longer paying attention to the large man still gripping onto her arm...except he wasn't at her arm anymore he was standing in front of her. The light blue dress shirt he was wearing was all she could see of him, but as his hands moved to the side of her face and calmly moved her head upwards she followed the blue shirt up to the knot of the black tie he was wearing and further still to a handsome face. Blue eyes and blonde hair, the all-American look ruined only by a tight-white scar that ran the length of his left cheek.

''Stephanie Plum? Sweetheart, is that you? Christ, what are you doing here?''

Matt Jenkins, an old college friend. They had been study partners that quickly turned into drinking partners and although they never slept together they had shared a few fumbling kisses. Right now Steph had never been happier to see him, she quickly got over that.

''Matt, what the hell! I was seconds away from keeling over with fear. At what point did you think dragging me into an alley on Stark Street was a good idea.''

Matt was looking past her, only just hearing her as his attention was drawn to some of the other residents of Stark Street.

''Trust me Stephie, it was only a matter of time before someone was going to drag you into an alley, you should thank your lucky stars it was me and not some hopped-up mugger, and you still haven't answered my 'What the hell are you doing here?' question.''

Steph was suddenly embarrassed, how can you tell a man you haven't seen in over a decade, a man who looking at the clean crisp shirt, and the silk tie was obviously putting his college education to good work, that you were so poor you had resorted to the volatile, black money of a loan shark.

''Um..nothing, I wasn't paying attention, I guess I wandered of course.'' There, a perfectly acceptable answer, and almost true, she wasn't paying attention for most of the walk over here, to busy thinking about how she got to this point in life in the first place.

Matt just looked at her, ''Oh sorry, did you want me to believe that?''

Oh yeah, Steph realised, Matt was the friend that could tell when she was lying.

''Look Stephie, I've some free time, if you want we'll go get lunch, and you can tell me why you were all but inside the office of Billy 'the worm' Marks.''

Billy 'the worm' Marks, maybe she did have time for lunch.

Crap! She had the time but not the money.

''Actually, Matt, I think I need to be heading back.''

Matt took one look at her and grabbed her hand, dragging her back out of the alley, '' You know what Steph seen as I haven't seen you in so long, lunch is on me,'' he looked at her again, before softly carrying on, ''you can't say no to that.''

With her stomach roaring at the thought of finally having proper food, Steph shook her head, ''You're right, lead the way.''

Oh well, if she couldn't get a loan, then she might as well have one last decent meal before she starved to death.

* * *

Her last meal was exactly what she wanted, greasy burger and fries and a sugary strawberry milkshake, Steph also had her eye on a piece of homemade apple pie as well, but she had a feeling she couldn't needle Matt into getting her a slice until he had her talking, so far though there had been little conversation.

Finishing off her meal with a sigh, Steph sat back and waited, she didn't do so for long.

''So, what's going on?'' Matt asked around a mouthful of sandwich, accustomed to regular meals throughout the day, he was eating much slower and still had half a sandwich and some fries.

Avoiding his eyes, Steph replied ''What! Nothing.''

''Steph, you look like shit. Your dress needs a wash, your hair needs more than just a brush run through it, and your make-up should be taken off before you put on another layer. If I didn't know that it was against your very basic of morals I would assume that you have been making a living on the corners.'' His tone was harsh, not mean, just...truthful.

But Jesus Christ, if it didn't hurt. She had tried so hard to not let anybody realise and now to have a man, who in all fairness after a decade apart was only slightly more than a stranger, point out the physical effects of her poverty, it was too much. Her eyes filled with tears and her hands covered her face as she began to cry. Not so much out of shame of her physical appearance, but from the knowledge that if Matt could tell than so could everybody else..and they hadn't offered to help her, not her neighbours, not the friends who stuck with her after the divorce and worst of all not her parents.

If they hadn't offered her any help at this point, why would they in the future, her absolute last resort, though completely unwanted had vanished, she couldn't move home, her last chance really did lay with men like 'The Worm'.

Steph's sobbing receded as she realised she was currently being gently rocked in Matt's arms, as he whispered into her hair.

''Shh, sweetheart, everything will get better, I promise, everything will get fixed.''

His words were, she was sure, meant to reassure her, but they were the same sentiments she had been telling herself since she had been made redundant. Despite his gentle tone, his actions only made Steph angry.

Lifting her head from his chest, her own watery eyes looked into his.

''Oh, it's alright for you to say that, you have a job, you've managed to make it past thirty without looking like a complete failure. It's easy to say things will get better when you're wearing a fucking silk tie!''

Matt hadn't let go, but he was no longer rocking her, just steadily looking her in the eye.

Steph's latest epiphany hit her again and in a low whisper, she finished ''I bet your parents are proud of you.''

Matt lowered his head until he was imitating her whisper into her ear.

''There's not much to be proud of when your only child is a mob-bosses hit man.''

Stephanie froze.


	2. An Offer

_Disclaimer: With the exception of original characters, all characters in this story belong to Janet Evanovich._

Of all the things in the world, that was probably one of the last things she ever expected Matt Jenkins to say. In fact he probably didn't say it.

''I'm sorry, I just completely misheard you.'' Steph had stopped crying, her problems immediately forgotten.

''Based on your reaction, I think you heard me just fine.'' Matt was still looking her right in the eye, as if daring her to misunderstand him again.

''What!'' Was her whispered screech.

Matt sighed and rolled his eyes, Steph almost smiled, the act so completely Burg, but then he carefully moved her out of his lap and turned to face her.

''Stephie, I'm not proud of what I do, I get no pleasure in it, the suits, the fucking silk ties, the car, everything, it's bought with blood money and there's nothing I can do about that but when I was in the same position as you a while back-the money, even with the consequences, was too good to pass up. But Stephie if you go to men like 'The Worm' and borrow money from them, you'll be in the same position as me. They own you, even once you think you've paid them back, they just ask for small favours but eventually…''

Matt trailed off and Steph thought about what sort of favour could evolve into murder. But Matt was trying to talk her out of her the only option she had left, she might be safer listening to him but she didn't know of she could last long enough for things to turn around for her.

''Matt, I get it, I really do, but I'm...'' Steph felt a lump form in her throat, the tears reappearing, ''..I'm desperate. Matt, it's not like I'm not trying, there are no jobs, not even MacDonald's is hiring, I can't even get a job as a burger flipper. No bank will listen to me, my landlord has been as patient as possible but even he's threatening to kick me out, my parents...my parents...'' Steph stopped, her parents thought if they didn't say anything it wasn't true, even if this ideal came at the cost of their own child. Steph had turned away from Matt when she started crying again, but she turned to look at him, tears silently making their way down her cheeks. Matt could never stand to see her cry.

''Aww, Christ, Stephie, come here.'' He dragged her back onto his lap. ''Ok, if you really need the money, I think I can help, same sort of thing but I'm not letting you anywhere near 'The Worm', I'll ask my boss.''

Steph brightened momentarily, until she remembered what sort of man Matt's boss was.

''He's a better man than 'The Worm' Steph and he might be easier on you if I'm asking on your behalf, besides he's getting old now and he has a soft spot for damsels in distress. Don't get your hopes up though, if I don't like his conditions I won't let you borrow from him, we'll just have to think of something else.''

Steph closed her eyes, Matt's boss sounded like an old-fashioned gangster, the kind that wouldn't hesitate in killing but wouldn't even think about raising his voice to a woman.

''Yes or no Stephanie?''

Steph didn't even have to think twice, if Matt was suggesting him than he couldn't be too bad, and at least he didn't have a stupid name like 'The Worm'.

She opened her eyes, ''Yes.''

''Ok, then, I'll talk to him this afternoon, he'll probably want to see you tonight.''

Steph raised an eyebrow in surprise, ''That quick?'' She would have to dig through her clothes when she got home, not looking for anything smart, more like something clean.

''Oh wait, what should I call him''

Matt tensed, ''Alright, but this isn't anything to do with the film. We call him...the Godfather.''

Oh fuck.


	3. The Deal

If anybody were to ask her right now how she was feeling, she would freely and with no hesitation tell them she had never been so scared. It was a mix of the same uneasy feeling you got as a kid when your parents caught you doing something wrong, combined with the paralysing fear that accompanies knowing you are close to death compounded further more with the knowledge that events as they stood were largely all her own doing.

She should have never married Dickie, she should have saved more throughout her life, for Gods sake even if the thought of staying with her parents made her almost physically ill, she still could have begged Valerie all the way over in California to let her stay for a bit. But no, she was still in Trenton, sitting in a very plush lounge area next to a set of heavy double doors guarding the offices of Trenton's own premier Mob Don.

Her clothing choice was agonised over for as long as she could before she was late, she had discarded business suits (too proper), little black dress (too inappropriate), skirt and top (too PTA mom) and her black pants and top (stained-she wasn't sure how). Eventually she had gone for what she liked to describe as her 'if you're going to die, you may as well be comfortable' look of blue jeans and a sweater.

Matt was beside her looking very smart in another silk tie and very at ease, flipping through a magazine and ignoring both the jittery Steph to his left, and the stone still guard to the side of the double doors. He didn't even look up when the doors opened and a small Italian Man stepped out.

''He'll see you now'' was said with not much expression.

Matt sighed, stood, threw the magazine onto his chair, grabbed Steph by the arm and dragged her past the guard, the small Italian man and though the double doors.

For Steph this whole process took place in a matter of seconds and suddenly she was inside an imposing looking office, with the heavy double doors closing behind her, the small Italian man staying on the other side.

Looking around she was intimidated by the dark wood panelling around the walls, the large wooden furniture and the dark reds that filled the room, she almost missed the man sitting behind the solid table. Almost. He seemed a tad overweight with greying hair and beard. He was well dressed. Overall he looked as if he had been a handsome man who had aged well, and he was looking at her intently. Without looking away, he began addressing Matt, who was beside her and still holding onto her upper arm.

''I gather then Matthew, that this is the young women you told me about.'' His voice was soft, a cultured accent rather than the drawl of New Jersey.

''Yes Sir''

''And does she approve of being manhandled?''

''Yea…what…Oh.'' Matt let go of Steph's arm, rubbing where he had been gripping.

''Sometimes, Matthew I do wonder why you're so popular with the ladies.'' The sarcasm was apparent but the soft tone made it seem like an honest enquiry.

Steph had to hide her grin at this, Matt for all his looks and charm now, was a bit of a bumbling fool around women back in college. The Godfather however, caught her eye and didn't bother to hide his own grin at Matt's expense. Steph hesitantly smiled back.

''Well!'' The Godfather announced loudly, standing up and stepping around the desk, he walked forward and stopped in front of Steph. ''Matthew here tells me you're having a bit of financial trouble, I don't blame you, the downturn in the economy affected some of my assets as well. Though I don't quite understand how a pretty thing like you couldn't sweet talk a gentleman down at the bank into giving you a loan.''

Steph blushed and looked down. ''All the bank managers were woman,'' she murmured hesitantly.

The Godfather looked at her for a minute, before breaking into laughter. He clapped his hand on her shoulder, ''Yes, well, I suppose a complete change in sexual preferences is asking a bit too much for a loan.''

He had stopped laughing and looked her up and down, his voice quieter, ''Good thing I'm not a woman then.''

Steph felt sick, she felt Matt stiffen beside her, his fingers ever so slightly brushing the sleeve of her jumper. Steph closed her eyes momentarily, opening them and looking at the Godfather, he had an expectant look on his face, inquisitive, curious, waiting for a reaction. She ran her eyes over his face, a slight smile to his lips, warm not a leer, his cheeks were slightly red, more a natural hue than a sign of his emotions, his hair was cut close at his head but slightly longer at his neck, his beard was short, but too thick to be a goatee, overall, Steph thought he looked more like a kindly grandfather than a mob boss, but a mob boss he was with a hoard of bodyguards and trained killer by his side, probably armed himself. She would have to choose her words well, she didn't want to offend him and she wasn't sure whose side Matt would be on if she did.

''I'm not sure I need to borrow that much money.''

The Godfather snorted, he looked her dead in the eye, smiling, '' No, you don't, not by a long shot actually, in fact I could give you a cheque now that would solve immediate and future worries without even denting my accounts.'' He paused, and looking slightly sheepish, stepped to the side allowing Steph an unobstructed view of his desk, ''I do apologise Ms Plum, please take a seat.''

Steph did so, feeling Matt step towards her, standing behind her chair.

The Godfather, moved to take his own seat, and keeping his eyes on Steph, addressed Matt, ''Matthew, I dare say Ms Plum may be a bit hungry, why don't you take a trip to the bakery and see what you can pick up.''

Matt started forward, but stopped himself, pulling on one of Steph's curls, he nodded then turned and left.

Steph felt her heart stutter, the man in front looked as harmless as can be, and that was his strength and she knew it, he could turn on you in a second and you would never see it coming, realising too late to defend yourself.

''Ms Plum, like I said, I could very easily end you financial distress, with Matthew vouching for you, I could have just as easily sent you a cheque with my regard, the sum would have been inconsequential and any repayments by you would be no more than change in my pocket.''

Steph was feeling uneasy, _why the meeting?_

''The reason for the meeting however, is because I am interested in offering you more than just a cheque.''

Forget stutters, her heart had stopped.

''Ms Plum, recent events have forced me to consider hiring, for the first time, a female employee.''

Seeing her face, the Godfather stopped himself, ''I take it Matthew has informed you of his current position within my organisation.''

Steph just about made herself nod.

''Well, you won't be doing that.''

A small sigh of relief escaped her, which was met by a small smile on the face of the Godfather.

''No, what I require is a point person. Someone to soften up potential clients before negotiations begins, or even someone to negotiate on my behalf. Not all clients respond to my intimidation techniques, what I want is a point person who can appeal to the more 'sensitive' of my clients.''

Steph was listening now, she had done that sort of work at EE. Martin, in fact she had been quite good at it, burg girls grew up learning how to read people, it was easier to manipulate them into things; watching a chick flick instead of an action film, going to Rossini's instead of MacDonald's, meeting your parents instead of sex…marriage. That sort of thing.

''Why me?'' The question popped out before she could stop herself, but the Godfather looked pleased that she was showing some interest.

''Why not you? I've looked into your background, you have experience in this field, you need the money and quite frankly you look like the sort of woman who would prefer to have something to do during the day instead of simply having the money and sitting around doing nothing.''

He had a point, not being able to get a job was a heavy strain on her finances but it was also extremely frustrating, her days seemed to go on forever, the day long and boring with nothing to do. It was a very tempting offer, a _very _tempting offer. It was the answer to all her problems wrapped up in one package, a package being handed to her by the most dangerous man in New Jersey.

The Godfather, looked knowingly at her, ''Naturally, I expect you to consider my offer, I don't need an answer now, as a friend of Matthews you were always going to have you money, but this job offers you that and more.''

A knock on the door and Matt re-entered, searching her out immediately.

''Matthew just in time, Ms Plum is ready to go now, escort her home safely and do give her my private number.'' Turning back to Steph, ''I do hope to hear from you, and if I don't just tell Matthew when you are ready for that cheque.''

Steph waved goodbye as Matt almost dragged her out of the room, pushing a bag of Boston Cremes into her hand. Gripping them tightly, she forgot what she was worrying about.

* * *

Steph was laying on her bed in her thinking position. The offer was the perfect solution to everything, but the cost would be to ignore her morals, her ethics. Though to be fair, having morals and ethics hadn't really made her any money recently. But that was the crux, she was going to get the money even if she didn't take the job.

But then what? how quickly would she spend it, pay off bills, move into a nicer apartment, update her wardrobe. Then what? She had no job, she would just keep spending until she ran out and then she would be back at this same point, the offer wasn't about the money, it was about giving her a job, letting her earn the money, letting her do something she enjoyed. But she would be working for a mob boss! It was no use, she couldn't decide for herself. She had to leave it up to chance.

Moving about gathering supplies, she found herself back on her bed with two pieces of paper in her hand. She screwed them up so the word in them couldn't be seen, she threw them up in the air a few times until she couldn't tell which one was which, then she took a deep breath.

''Should I accept the offer?''

She threw the pieces of paper in the air, closed her eyes and caught one.

She opened it carefully not wanting it to rip, on it, in her own writing was _NO. _Well, that decided it then, she would just take the cheque.

She picked up the phone and dialled.

''Hello Sir, its Stephanie Plum, I'm ringing to accept your offer.''

_Oops, Oh well._


	4. Prada Pumps and First Meetings

Steph was getting ready for a meeting she had in a few hours and thought back on the differences in her life that had occurred in the past seven months since she accepted the Godfather's offer, or Mr Burdock as she was asked to call him.

She had approached the topic with him once, asking why he was called the Godfather, he had laughed, it wasn't of his own design apparently, many years ago he had employed a man utterly obsessed with the films, he only referred to his boss as the Godfather once or twice on the streets and it stuck, growing in popularity as it was today. However, clients usually prefer to be dealing with a man with a normal last name, so for her he was either Sir, or Mr Burdock.

Thinking of clients, she had to leave now if was going to arrive at her meeting on time.

She grabbed her bag, looking around her large well-furnished apartment, she smoothed down the non-existent crease in her expensive black suit, her new black pumps clicking on the floors as she grabbed the keys to her cute little convertible.

Yes, there had been many changes in her life, being a point person for a mob boss meant she always had to look good, something Mr Burdock firmly believed in, and he wholly approved of all her purchases. Most times it was easy to ignore her morals nagging in the background, usually as she was handing over her card in shops, but it was taking a toll on her. She turned off the lights and left her apartment.

* * *

Hours later, Steph made her way back to the apartment. Her meeting had been a massive success, the client had been more enamoured of Steph then he was interested in the finer points of the deal he was making. Using this to her advantage, she had managed to secure not only his business with the current 'transaction' but future ones with his company whilst recommending her to his associates. Burdock had been impressed and her fee for this particular job had been her significantly more then he had originally offered.

Steph was pleased with herself although she had been good at her job with E.E Martin; it was never much of a challenge.

Though Steph had to admit to herself that part of her current success was down to her good imagination and denial. When dealing with men who could lose millions of dollars if the authorities got involved, they rarely referred to the goods they were dealing with by name. Negotiating when the 'goods' would arrive, when the 'product' would be shipped or what the possible 'revenue' would be, it was easy to pretend that once again she was dealing in underwear, or just for her personal pleasure, expensive, designer shoes. Though she doubted Burdock wanted to hear, that whilst today's client was only thinking about Steph, she was in return thoroughly entertaining herself with the thought that this deal involved mass quantities of Prada Pumps, rather than high quality cocaine.

Just as Steph was mentally debating whether or not she should actually buy herself some Prada pumps, her phone began to ring.

She sighed, she wasn't in the mood for work, keeping the client's mind on business rather than her legs had been stressful enough, all she wanted was a bath and an early night. She grabbed the phone.

''Stephanie Plum'' She answered the phone, taking her shoes off in the process.

''Stephanie, it's me I have a job for you.'' It was Burdock, Steph headed towards the kitchen, maybe a glass of wine would help.

''Oh right Sir, when and where.'' Hmmm, red or white. She pulled a face whilst debating her options.

''Tomorrow, 1 pm, I want you to conduct the meeting in my office.'' Red, she was in a red mood. Wait…his office?

''Your Office?'' Steph had only actually been in Burdock's office twice before, the first time with Matt, and the second time straight after she agreed to work for Burdock. Her meetings were usually in conference rooms at one of Burdock's business offices, occasionally a nice restaurant.

''Yes, I need you to meet with a… well, he's not really a client. The situation is more complicated than that. He works on the other end of the spectrum to us._'' Other end of the spectrum to 'you', not us_, Steph thought, denial had refused to let her admit that she had anything to do with the criminal activities Burdock performed, she was there to get clients to sign contracts nothing else.

But she was still confused with his terminology.

''You want me to meet with…'' She paused, what _was the opposite of a criminal?_ ''…the police?''

''Good God no. He's not with the police, he owns a security firm in the area, but he dabbles in bounty hunting.'' _Dabbled?_ Steph never really thought bounty hunting was a profession one could dabble in.

''Ok…'' Burdock was not a man you said no to. Even if you were confused in the extreme. ''What's it concerning?''

''Mr Manoso and I have a rather tentative arrangement. Occasionally I am in the need of extra protection at my end, from men with perhaps more … experience than the average bodyguard. In return for providing these services, Mr Manoso may call on me to aid him in tracking down some of his more difficult bounties. Have my people keep their ear to the ground and report back, that sort of thing. The arrangement is mutually beneficial, but occasionally the terms need to be renegotiated. That my dear is where you come in, normally I would do it myself but I have to go out of town. Manoso has been made aware of the change. Arrive at 12 tomorrow and I'll have one of the managers go over what of changes I'm prepared to make. Any questions?''

Steph had plenty, _security firm? Occasional Bounty hunter? What sort of extra experience? '_'No Sir, I understand.''

''Excellent.'' Burdock hung up the phone. Listening to the dial tone in her ear, Steph surveyed the wine bottles in front of her. She didn't really know what to expect of tomorrow's job. Maybe wine wasn't a good idea, she didn't want to wake up with anything resembling a hangover in the morning.

She put the phone back into the cradle, and headed toward the bathroom, a nice bubble bath should help ease away her anxiety over tomorrow, then again, she turned back towards the kitchen. Ben and Jerry's existed for a reason.

* * *

It was 12.55, she was standing in front of the large bay window in Burdock's office, looking out over Trenton. Standing here it, she could imagine how easy it was for Burdock to stand here and look out at his empire, in front of her Trenton was sprawled out.

One of Burdocks business managers had spent almost an hour outlining what Mr Manoso's current deal with Burdock entailed, what they expected him to negotiate for and what they were willing to give. She had gotten her head around most of it, enough to feel less nervous about the upcoming meeting. On that note, she checked her watch. 1pm exactly, Manoso should be here any second.

She turned around, slamming straight into the rock hard body that had been standing behind her, instinctively she reached out and grasped a wide and solid bicep to steady herself, before looking up into the face of the single most beautiful man she had ever seen.

She felt her mind go blank. Shit.


	5. A Charming Man?

Steph could only concentrate on one thing and at that moment in time it was eyes the color of dark chocolate. Eyes that were staring back at her, no emotion, nothing to say he appreciated her looking him dead in the eye and yet nothing to say that he minded. She took his silence as consent and didn't make any attempt to move away, her hands still on his arms, they tightened almost unnoticeably. She continued to look him in the eye. She had a feeling in her stomach, like her whole person had been tilted off center, and now she was suffering from motion sickness, and he was the only solid thing she could grab onto.

Still looking him in the eye, she waited for her body to settle, for things to come back into place.

They did, she didn't know how long she had been holding onto him, and now there was the potential that she had just made a massive fool of herself in front of the biggest 'client', Burdock had let her face alone. There was only one thing to do; she had to deal with the situation the Stephanie Plum way. Deny anything had happened.

Her early session with the business manager came rushing back.

_Get through the next hour, don't think about him for one hour, have the meeting, once he's gone think about him as much as you want. _

She stepped back, still looking him in the eye, her face morphed from that of stunned nothing into the calm business persona she knew and was comfortable hiding behind.

Raising her hand in front of her, outstretched towards him, ''Mr Manoso?''

A second in which nothing happened, to an observer that second of nothing wouldn't mean a thing, to Steph it gave her enough time to worry if he was going to call her on her unprofessional start. Moving back had given her the advantage of seeing more than just his face, his upper body was now in her sight. The wide shoulders, and strong arms that heaved just a little as his body seemingly without his consent shuddered. His face remained blank.

_Great, he's probably offended that Burdock hasn't just missed a meeting but sent some fool in his place. _

The second over, and Mr Manoso grasped Steph's hand in a controlled handshake.

''Ms Plum I presume?'' His voice was the sort of smooth that made you want to close your eyes and just listen.

_One hour! For God's sake, just get the meeting over with then think about him all you want, please!_

Her inner voice, the calm, collected Steph who had warned her that Dickie was an ass and who convinced her trying to strangle him at their divorce hearing was a bad idea, was screaming in her head. She knew she was in trouble. She couldn't fuck up just because he was pretty to look at, she worked for a mob boss, messing up a meeting was high on the list for 'Reasons to make people disappear'.

She straightened her spine; this was one of the times when calm, collected Stephanie was better off in control. Removing her hand from his grip, she waved to the visitor chair in front of the desk.

''Mr Manoso, please have a seat.''

His gaze moved following her arm to the chairs, and then back up to her face. He grinned, a grin designed to make girls sigh and do as he wanted, but Steph searched his eyes, and seen a blank mask, his grin was a curling of the lip, but no more, it didn't reach his eyes, didn't remove the mask.

Clearly, he had noticed her reaction then, had decided that the way to act in the meeting was to charm her, to make her forget the absolute maximum she was allowed to negotiate. He may be more attractive then any man she had ever seen, but 'charming businessman' was a character she knew how to deal with.

Feeling a bit more confident, now they had chosen their roles, his the opportunistic charmer and her the cool negotiator, she moved to take her seat on the other side of the desk, the sun from the window behind her washing over her, filling her with temporary warmth, a warmth that turned to heat when his voice floated towards her.

''Please, call me Ranger.''

* * *

The hour meeting she had expected was now reaching an hour and 45 minutes. He wanted more from Burdock, more sources when he needed info on a bounty but disproportionate to the increase in resources he was willing to provide. Steph wouldn't give, she knew her maximum, she wouldn't go over, his charming routine wasn't working on her, not whilst his eyes stayed so flat.

He'd argued her to the maximum within the first hour, the last 45 minutes had been Mr Manoso, ahem, 'Ranger', trying to convince her that nobody would mind if she went over the max by just a little. She had enough, when likened to a dog with a bone, no man appeared as attractive as he originally looked, this apparently still applied to the man before her, impersonating a Greek God.

She wanted a bath, she had no more meetings lined up until after the weekend and she wanted to pamper herself. A bath, a face mask and then maybe a film she could nap in front of. In fact that idea was too tempting.

''Mr Manoso, I feel duty bound to tell you that my boss works for the mob.'' Her words were clipped, her voice strong. She really wanted to go home now.

Ranger looked at her with more actual emotion than she had witnessed from him so far. His eyes finally had something in them, and they conveyed the message that he was shocked and convinced she was an idiot.

''I know.'' He said slowly, sitting straighter in his chair.

''Then surely you may be aware that going over my maximum by 'just a little' may benefit you, but could actually result in costing me one if not both my kneecaps.''

Ranger's eyes widened, she had the impression that it was less from the thought of her being harmed and more to do with the fact that he didn't know how to respond.

''Mr Manoso, for the sake of my kneecaps, I'm hoping that you will accept my final offer and sign the contract.''

Steph slid the contract before him, he was silent and still.

The he moved forward, removing a pen from a pocket inside his jacket.

''What sane man would want to see a woman like you without her kneecaps?'' He signed the contract and stood. Putting the pen back into his jacket, he removed a business card.

''My office and cell number, just in case you fear for other parts of your body as well. Good day Ms Plum.'' And with that he strode out of the office.

Steph let out a big sigh and let her head flop back against the chair. He really was a beautiful man, one she was unlikely to meet again.

He had a body that seemed to be made of rock, his skin was darker than her own milky complexion, a caramel tone that made her hungry, not for food. It had been months since the last time she had sex, she was willing to bet it had been over a year. It wasn't that she didn't get any interest, but between her previous poverty and then her new job complete with organized criminal underground activity, she just didn't have the time. But Mr Manoso….Ranger, his body, his grin just screamed sex, good sex as well. The heat from the sun was still on her back, she felt overheated, from warmth and now the thoughts of Ranger. She could feel sweat gathering at her hairline, trickling down the nape of her neck. Her breathing had hitched. She reached a hand to her jacket, wafting it slightly, trying to cool her overheated skin down. Her hand slipped inside her jacket, covering her breast through the material of her shirt and her bra. She massaged them roughly, she imagined Ranger would like things a little hard. Pinching her nipple though her layers, she let out a soft moan. It really had been too long.

A noise outside the door had her quickly remove her hands. The noise, footsteps moved past her door, continuing down the corridor without pausing at the office. She needed to cool down.

She stood, she had revised her plan. In her opinion a night of rest and relaxation was incomplete without Ben and Jerry's and she had finished hers the night before. A quick stop in the shop was in order.

* * *

She had her tub and was making her way to the check out. Mentally debating which film to watch, when something caught her hip. Noticing her lack of attention she turned to apologise to the owner of the shopping cart, her voice catching when she saw who it was.

Tall, muscled and gorgeous.

''Hello Morelli''


	6. The Return of the Morelli

The last time Steph had seen Joe Morelli was at her wedding, she had long given up the fight with her mother with the planning of the event, as far as Steph was concerned she was going to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved, the enigmatic young Dickie Orr, she supposed her wedding day was only that _one _day compared to the rest of her life, so yes, her mother was given free reign over the plans, looking back on it now, Steph was positive that her mother never loved her more than she did in those few months.

With her mother in control, the guest list swelled, friends of neighbour's-brother's-nephew's-girlfriend's soon found their way onto the list so it was actually no surprise to Steph when on the day itself, peeking though a gap in the door of the church minutes before her entrance she spied Joseph Morelli, the 'De-virginator' as herself and Mary Lou referred to him as. She assumed he would have been invited, Angie Morelli was a burg Matriarch, it would be perceived as a snub of epic proportions if her baby Joey wasn't invited to the most recent 'Burg wedding of the year'.

He was slouching next to his brothers on the 'Morelli' pew, laughing at something and then making an obscene hand gesture that had her giggling, Mary Lou, who at the time was fluffing up the skirt on her dress, asked her what was funny, had Dickie done something? Steph hadn't the heart to tell her that yes, Dickie was smart and witty, had a great job and could provide for her but when it came to looks, Joseph Morelli blew him out of the water, with his dark thick hair, and his long legs and lean hips and his deep chocolate eyes that were right at this moment staring straight at her with amusement as she snapped out of the memories and realised she was openly ogling Morelli in a supermarket.

''Well, well, if it isn't the lovely Stephanie.'' _Crap, there goes any attempt at sneaking away!_

Steph sighed, rolling her shoulders back and looking Morelli dead on, ''Joe Morelli…' she paused, ''…well its been fun, must be going.'' She turned to leave, _Take the hint, leave me alone! _

Her getaway was halted however, by the presence of Morelli's hand grabbing onto her arm and swinging her around to face him.

''Come on Steph, I just meant hello, its been years, years that have been very good to you.'' His eyes were warm and his stance was friendly, and Steph felt herself melt as if she was a teenager all over again.

Morelli immediately took advantage of her softening attitude, and slid his hand down her arm to grasp her fingertips in his own. ''Seriously Steph its good to see you, I didn't know you moved back to town, your mom hasn't mentioned it to anyone''

That didn't surprise Steph, her mom wasn't about to admit to anyone that Steph couldn't even get divorced properly, unlike 'Burg' divorces, once the screaming stopped Steph wanted the split to be over and done with and keep her pride intact, her well paid job at E.E Martin meant she hadn't relied on Dickie too much financially and his stand up lawyer argued that she shouldn't be entitled to alimony if she could look after herself. Steph agreed, her salary was good, she didn't need Dickie's money, she didn't need his house and she didn't need his car. She left the marriage with exactly what she went in to it with, her job, her Aunt's mantle clock and a wooden side dish a friend had made for her in college. Six months later, the job had gone, the mantle clock had been pawned and the side dish couldn't be seen for the mountain of bills covering it.

The pain of her mothers apparent lack of pride in Steph made her stomach clench and suddenly she just wanted to sleep, she had been back nearly a year, she had a nice apartment and a good if not questionable job, and yet her mother still clung to the fact that Steph 'the mess up' had gotten herself divorced after the expensive wedding they threw for her, she apparently wasn't even worth a mention in the Sunday morning gossiping after Mass.

Something must have shown in her face because suddenly Morelli had his hands cupping her cheeks, his eyes concerned and his warm body just brushing hers. '' I heard about your divorce, I'm sorry, if I was in your position I would have moved back too.''

He was being so sweet, his hands were warm against her face and suddenly Steph was desperate for affection, it had been a long time since a man had held her as carefully as Morelli was at the moment.

''Hey Steph, how about a proper 'Welcome Home'? Let me take you out, we can catch up.'' His voice was cheerful, she detected no trace of sexual innuendo.

Startled Steph pulled her face away from Morelli's cupped hands, he was being sweet to her now, but she hadn't forgotten that the last few times they'd seen each other had ended badly.

Morelli dropped his hands, clearly reading how uncomfortable Steph was, ''No pressure Steph, just as friends, it would be good to talk, like the adults we are now, allegedly.''

Steph laughed, the one thing Morelli always had was charm and this was definitely more friend charm then seduction charm.

''You know Morelli, I'd like that,'' and she would, she'd like to relax for once and get caught up with getting to know her childhood acquaintance again, '' I'll give you my number.''

They parted with a kiss on the cheek and Morelli promising to call her in the next few days, she left the supermarket with enough food for a week, a tub of Ben and Jerry's for later and a smile. The Morelli she had just met was not the arrogant manboy she had grown up with and she was looking forward to spending time with the new him, besides the years had not hurt Morelli he was definitely the most gorgeous man she had ever met, _the second most gorgeous man you have ever met, you met the first this morning, his hair, his skin, oh God his eyes. _Shut up! Steph wished she had an off switch for her mind sometimes.

Reaching home Steph made her way to the kitchen, pressing play on her answering machine as she did, she had one new message and Burdock's voice filled her apartment as she put away her shopping.

''Stephanie, just thought I'd ring and let you know how well you did today, Manoso was impressed with your professionalism, he was very complimentary…'' Steph snorted, she very much doubted that conversation took place, more likely Manoso didn't complain and Burdock took that as a good sign, ''…anyway, if you can handle him once you can do it again, now I know I can trust with his account, I'm handing it over to you permanently. Drop by tomorrow and I'll hand you the file so you can acquaint yourself with it. Goodnight.''

Steph was frozen still, standing in the middle of her kitchen the fridge door open and a tub or butter in her hand. She was going to have to spend more time with Manoso, with his commanding air and his self-righteousness, and his beautiful, mouth-watering body, _Oh Shit!_


	7. Dinner and a Date

Steph was in her home office, her job only required her to meet with clients not to do paperwork as well, but she was often allowed to read background notes on the men she had to meet to prepare herself, this she did at home. She was not however, going to allow what she did for a living to creep into her spare time, 'spare time' being every single second she was off the clock and therefore not technically working for the mob. Work therefore stayed in her 'study', the small spare bedroom she had dedicated to such a purpose, no notes or case details would ever be found in any other part of her apartment except for her study, it was a small way of distancing herself from her work as much as possible, but right now she was technically at work, and her cell was ringing.

''Stephanie Plum''

''I thought I'd just check, how are you kneecaps?"

Steph stood still. _What? Oh yeah, Mr. Manoso._

"Mr. Manoso, my kneecaps are just fine.'' This was met with silence on the other end; Steph struggled to think of something to say that would fill the silence.

''Erm, how are yours?''

A deep throaty chuckle resonated over the line and Steph was shocked as she felt her body react, her knees shaking, her temperature rising and the urge to moan was only just repressed.

''They're good.''

Stephanie waited but only silence followed his comment and she didn't really know what else to say.

''Can I help you with something Mr. Manoso?''

Again, silence followed, the flushed feeling was actually starting to disappear, replaced with a touch of annoyance, in person the mysterious thing was hot, over the phone it was disappointing and quite frankly a bit rude.

''Mr. Manoso, is there something you need, because I have things to be getting on with?'' Her tone of voice conveyed her growing frustration with the phone call.

''There's nothing I want from you yet Ms Plum, I'm just ringing to express my congratulations.''

''Pardon?'' _What? _She couldn't think of anything she'd done recently worth congratulating.

''Your promotion.'' Steph could definitely tell he was smirking.

''I wasn't aware I was given a promotion.'' She was wary of what he was going to say next, she felt as if he was playing a joke on her and only he would ever get to know the punch line.

''Your Boss has just informed me that you alone will be dealing with my account from now on. Sole charge of a client as big as me, sounds like a promotion.''

_Arrogant Son-of-a-Bitch! _She could feel her own lips curl into a smirk. ''Don't worry Mr. Manoso, I've had bigger….clients.''

_Crap. _Steph didn't think that making veiled and insulting references to a man like Manoso was a good idea, she closed her eyes and waited for some sort of biting retaliation.

Instead, there was a chuckle.

''To hear you say that, Ms Plum, fills me with confidence over you ability to handle someone…of my size. I'll be in contact soon, you'll need some history on my working relationship with you boss.''

Then he was gone, and Steph still had her eyes closed.

She blew out a deep breath and swivelled on her chair towards the window, opening her eyes she stood up and looked out towards the blue sky, hoping that it would help her to calm down whilst she took deep breaths.

She didn't know what it was about that man that both aroused her and frustrated her. He was gorgeous no doubt, but he was arrogant. She took another breath and her thoughts turned to Joe Morelli. He was a surprise, not the cocky young man she grew up with. Nor did he seem to be the bastard his father was. She admitted to herself, it would be interesting to get to know this new Joe.

Calm now, Steph turned to go back to her desk, but stopped half turned.

There was a car outside the building, parked on the street rather then in the parking lot. The drivers window was open slightly at the top but she couldn't see the driver from the distance. There was nothing unusual about it, it was dark blue, common model, but it looked…familiar. Steph tried to place where she had seen it before, but just as she pressed herself against the window to try and see it more clearly, the window rolled up, the engine started and it rolled away.

Steph pondered for a second, but bringing no place to mind where she had seen the car before she shrugged her shoulders and sat back down.

* * *

Steph was exhausted, she'd been all over town for her client meetings, she'd had copious amounts of background reading to do on several other potential clients, although she'd had three of her meetings in restaurants, she never liked to eat in front of the clients so she was starving, she couldn't even be bothered to try and relax with a bath and a DVD, she ordered Chinese and headed straight for the shower; dinner and then bed were her plans for the evening.

15 minutes later she felt cleaner but the warmth of the water and the soft robe she was wearing just made her sleepier. There was a knock on the door and Steph headed over to it grabbing her purse on the way, glad that her food was here to she could eat it quickly and sleep.

Opening the door to Joe Morelli rather then the delivery boy made her disappointed in a way she would never admit to the man standing in front of her.

''Hey,'' he sounded fine but he looked as exhausted as she felt.

''Hey Morelli, erm, come in.'' She waved him in, before remembering that she hadn't ever told him where she lived. She turned, about to ask him how he found her, but he caught on before she started.

''Perk of the job, type in a name and you get the address, of course if my boss ever asks I just tell him you're a suspect in a crime. Haven't decided which one though…I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.'' He smiled at her and Steph felt the corner of her lips turn up in response.

''Can I sit?'' He motioned towards the sofa.

''Oh God, yeah, sorry my manners disappear when I'm tired. Would you like a drink?'' Steph headed towards the kitchen anyway without waiting for an answer, she was embarrassed, not so much from her lack of manners but more from suddenly realizing that Joe Morelli was in her apartment and she was only wearing a robe.

He yelled for a water, and Steph took two back into the living room.

His head was resting on the back of the, eyes closed. She placed the water bottles on the table in front of him.

''You alright Morelli?'' She didn't know why he was here, especially when he seemed so tired.

He opened his eyes and smiled a weary smile at her. ''I'm alright Steph, just tired, I was in the area is all.''

Reasonable explanation, last she heard he'd made homicide detective, he could be anywhere in the city at any given time.

''Bad case?'' She settled on the chair by the sofa, tucking herself in and checking that her robe wasn't baring any skin.

''Not so much, its just one of those days.'' He stopped, Steph waited but apparently Morelli had finished talking. Feeling slightly uncomfortable she tugged the robe closer to her body and looked about the apartment for inspiration.

''I'll tell you what-' Startled from her perusal of the bookcase, Steph turned to look at Morelli.

''-you go get into something more comfortable, or less comfortable if you're in the mood-'' He winked at Steph, who rolled her eyes in response ''-and I'll make us some coffee.'' It was a plan Steph wasn't going to object to.

20 minutes later and the doorbell interrupted the steady stream of conversation they'd fallen into. The takeaway had arrived and from the interested look on Morelli's face she had a feeling that she wasn't going to get rid of him for a while now food had appeared.

She looked at his hopeful face, sighed and nodded towards the kitchen. Once they'd settled down, the conversation resumed with Morelli explaining to Steph the downside of the glamorous life of a city homicide detective.

''Take the case I'm on at the moment,'' they were at the table, Joe speaking around a mouthful of chicken, ''We've been after this guy for years, the evidence against him is racking up but so slowly, its frustrating, to know someone's guilty but not being able to do anything.''

Steph nodded, more than once she wanted to pick up the phone and give the police the whereabouts of whatever 'Client' she was with, but knew if she did then they'd drag her down with them.

''Surely then, the satisfaction of catching them is even better if it takes so long?'' She was honestly interested. She'd never spoken to a police officer before.

''Well yeah, it feels good until you realize once you've finished with one guy you just move straight onto the next. Do you realize how many more killers, and abusers and thieves we could have behind bars right now if we didn't spend so much time filling in paperwork and staking out houses just to catch one man?'' Steph was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, Morelli had moved from talking about his job to a full blown tirade.

''I suppose there's not much you can do about it though.'' She wanted to placate him, to calm him down.

''No there's not. Sorry, I get worked up sometimes. With these sorts of criminals, you either have to put in the time. Or…well you just have to wait for them to mess up.''

Silence. She could feel him staring at her whilst she looked down at her food. A sliver of fear running through her body. _Does he know?_

She looked up. His warm eyes and even warmer smile looked back at her, and all traces of fear disappeared. God, she was starting to get paranoid.

Morelli had finished his food, empty cartons covered the table. ''It's been good talking to you Steph.'' His voice was gentle, ''I'd like to do this again.''

She could feel the blush in her cheeks, Morelli's hand moved to the side of her face, brushing a curl back behind her ear.

''I think I'll go, early shift tomorrow.'' He stood to leave, breaking Steph out of her reverie. She followed him to the door.

''So can we?'' He'd opened the door and was in the hallway, looking at her hopefully.

''Can we what?'' Had she missed something, she needed to seek help if she continued to zone out around attractive men.

''Do this again? Maybe not here, but definitely dinner somewhere and talking, with the dinner, somewhere.'' He was looking embarrassed now and Steph was starting to realize how different this man was from the arrogant youth who stole her virginity.

''Sure, I'd like that...Joe.'' He smiled at the first use by her of his first name, waved a little and walked away.

She shut the door and reveled in the full blown smile that had taken over her face. All previous dates with Joe Morelli had ended with part of him in part of her and she couldn't help but hope that this latest date would end the same way.


End file.
